Syria may be tired of war, but war may not be tired of Syria

Credit: Firstpost

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Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, appears to be a man who picks his battles.

Speaking at a Damascus mosque, Mr. Al-Jolani, a one-time jihadist with a history as an Al Qaeda and the Islamic State operative and a $10 million US bounty on his head, suggested Syrians were exhausted, focused on reconstructing their war-ravaged country, and unprepared for another war.

“The country is moving towards development and reconstruction. It’s going towards stability. People are exhausted from war. So, the country isn’t ready for another one, and it’s not going to get into another one,” Mr. Al-Jolani said.

Days later, Syrian state media quoted Mr. Al-Jolani as saying, "We are not in the process of engaging in a conflict with Israel,” adding that “There are no excuses for any foreign intervention in Syria now that the Iranians have left."

Mr. Al-Jolani’s problem is that Syria may be tired of war after 14 years of fighting, but war may not be tired of Syria.

The stakes are high for Mr. Al-Jolani, his rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and Syria.

Mr. Al-Jolani needs to be seen as building an inclusive Syria that has ruptured the country’s ties to militancy, whether it’s Mr. Al-Assad’s alliance with Iran and the Islamic Republic’s non-state partners, Sunni Muslim radicalism, or Hayat Tahrir’s jihadist past.

The pitfalls are multiple.